Pro-social helping activities are activities that are intended by the helper to mainly benefit the receiver. Research from WeHelpen showed that offering passive help through asking “if there is anything I can do, please let me know” does not often result in the helping behavior. Asking for help is difficult because it does not fit in the idea of being autonomous and self-reliance.
In this thesis, tools are developed to encourage people to actively perform the helping behavior. These tools consist of awareness, guidance and triggers. They are implemented in daily life products, to inspire, guide and remind people to perform the helping behavior.

This master thesis describes the outcome of the graduation project “Capitalizing the helping hand” which is executed for, and commissioned, by WeHelpen. The project aims to find new ways of helping in the informal domain in order to extend the services provided by WeHelpen, and to consider the interests of the stakeholders and members comprising cooperation WeHelpen. By doing so, it anticipates the desire to innovate in the informal helping context as researched in The Netherlands. A new angle on the interest group has been established, focusing on a type of behavior perceived as confused, rather than the underlying mental reasons for this confusion. This report presents the proposal doordraaischijf which is developed for cooperation WeHelpen. A first overview of the main elements of the product-service combination can be seen in here, accompanied by a brief summary.

This proposal will be elaborated on in more detail throughout the report, as well as the reasoning behind the embodiment and development. The project approach is a “lean” version of Vision in Product Design. It is an adaptation using specifically the context projection element to place an intervention in a future context. The researched contexts are presented. In the following chapters, different aspects of the design will be further elaborated on, and as of why this intervention is appropriate for the context of confusion. The proposal chapter will feature different aspects of the design are the interactions that are taking place, the context of use, the underlying working principles, shape, form, color, material, and finish. In the arguments, the reasoning behind elements of the development is explained additionally. The co-creation sessions with experiential experts are explained in the chapter focus group results. The relevancy for stakeholders of WeHelpen, the users, as well as society as a whole is argued. The user evaluation chapter presents the study conducted to answer the research question if people who should carry the intervention are able to formulate the scenarios and instructions related to their confusion. The journey-chapter focuses on the process in chronological order, also explaining the steps which did not contribute to the final proposal directly, but had influence on the process. A personal reflection considering several themes of the graduation project are included. The references present all the literature, multimedia publications, and the professionals which have been interviewed. The appendices provide insight in the materials that evoked insights as well as the results that served as a foundation for argumentation. 

The doordraaischijf is a handheld disc which allows carriers to communicate their needs in a moment of confusion to others. The specific shape is a reference to a parking disc, except this disc has two sides that hold content. One side (orange) holds the scenarios the carrier has formulated related to confusion, while the other side (purple) displays the appropriate instruction to the helping hand for improving the situation. A digital platform complements the physical presence of the disc.

The carriers are people prone to confusion; those with a history of confused behavior or a higher chance of developing confused behavior. As people in confusion might be temporarily unable to formulate those needs, the disc holds predefined personalized scenarios and corresponding instructions for improving those situations.

A lot of people would like to help another who might be in confusion, but do not know how to intervene. This disc provides a perspective for action to the helping hand: the personalized instructions assist the helper in offering the appropriate help. The helping hand can be anyone that passes by.
A carrier will rotate the insert disc to select the unfolding scenario in relation to confusion. The helping hand will consider the appropriate instruction on the other side of the casing, which is automatically and synchronously displayed when the carrier selects the scenario. The instructions are formulated personally by the carrier at a different moment in time, so the helper can rely on the content. This is also a safeguard for the intervention, as people in confusion might voice different options than when they are in a more accountable mental state. The instructions will leave room for interpretation by the helping hand, as the personal considerations as well as the variables surrounding the moment influence the interaction.

The digital platform facilitates all the support interactions. It allows for the creation of the personal content as well as the production and delivery. The helping hand can instigate contact through a personal connect code at a convenient moment.